Should I be worried if I don't get any internships by 3rd year's end?

Question

I am in some mediocre college in some corner of India. Am about to complete 3rd year C.S. in a month and a half.

I have no idea how to go about "finding an internship" as everyone seems to put it. Looking at online advice, I find that a primary way is to "use your contacts". I am sad to say that I don't have many friends(those I have, I am trying to get help from them for all it's worth), and my family can't help me as they have no idea about the software industry.

My college has no official facility for aiding students in this, and the few faculty members who had contacts in "whatever" part of the industry have favoured some students that they have personally come to know. (Though I hear that the "internships" they got involve them stocking equipment in some small companies.... still it's something?)

I'm getting nervous. I am considering just spending the coming summer refining my skills in C++ and begin learning MySQL and C#, both of which I have zero experience in. Maybe work on my own project... like a library management system.

Relative to those in my college, I think I am among the best programmers there, but that isn't saying much as a lot of students can barely write basic code. I have experience in teaching myself C++, and DirectX9 having created a Tetris clone, some basic 3D apps (bouncing balls), and a basic console-based, text-file-database-using library management system (which I plan to improve this summer).

Is it alright if I spend my summer so? Will I be able to get a job later on? I know I have to improve my social skills to get anywhere in life, and I will try, but say I am stuck like this till 4th year's end... will such self studying, online learning help me in landing a decent job? Perhaps after I have learned a bit more, joining some open source project?

Answer 1

One suggestion that I would have for you is that you should consider joining some open source projects and contributing for the same. By this you would learn new technologies and also gain project experience. It need not be the at you should only go to some companies for gaining experience. You can definitely contribute and learn well by being part of any open source project.

All the very best. If you need more pointers I can definitely help.

Answer 2

Look around tech job searching sites. Apply for everything you think you could excel in and if you get a call be honest. Say you are still in school and you would like to intern and learn. Most companies don't mind interns if they have the patience for them. If they get accustomed to you, they will want you to go full-time after you graduate, and will wait for you to! Just start looking now, and even though a job may say full-time, apply anyway and ask if you can intern with them. The more places you apply to the better! Some software developer shops will train you and shape you as as intern if they think you have what it takes to be a professional software developer.

Take your time, apply anywhere interesting, and be 100% honest! If you don't know something, say so, never bs.

Answer 3

This question is off-topic, but using one's contacts is most certainly not the only way to get an internship. Perhaps you are having trouble because you are selling yourself short (your description of your own skills is very negative, and you need to emphasize what you have to offer, not what you lack). I suggest that you take a look at what companies you would like to intern with, craft a resume or several resumes (bearing those companies in mind), and contact those companies with your resume and why you want to intern with them. You may not be able to find a paid internship, but if you are willing to provide free labor, I am sure you will get your foot in the door at one of the places to which you apply. An internship will give you experience, contacts (assuming you do well and treat others in the workplace well), and something else to add to your resume. If, in the unlikely event that you do not get an internship, open source projects will also give you experience. However, I would strongly advise that you get some experience in the industry and interpersonal interaction.